LILY"Laron, stop asking questions about guns and stop bothering that man," I yelled, but he touched the goon's gun's butt, and they both gave me a smile.From what I could hear of the little excerpts, the boy was asking how much it cost, "Life done teach him a lot," Nonna whispered, watching as he looked up at the goon once more. "That boy will be the death of you."We were strolling through the manor compound, courtesy of Nonna, who had decided that staying alone in the manor would be bad for the baby's pregnancy.Laron had initially followed us, but after some time, he became bored and limped away. If that was Adler's reason for wanting the pregnancy to be a girl, I think I was on board. Hopefully, she didn't have a bite of Kyra, which would be ten times worse.And was not I relieved Kyra did not read minds?"How is Adler?" Nonna asked."He does sound fine." She looked at me, puzzled, and I explained, "I have not seen him in a few days, Nonna." I hoped my smile was genuine enough.
I was awake when he opened the door at one in the morning, squinting against the bright lights that shone down on me as I ogled him with my eyes.He had taken the time to clean up before he walked in, as evidenced by his damp hair, despite being dressed in a plain turtle neck long-sleeved shirt and tailored pants.Puzzled eyes fell on me with a slight frown, the questions in his eyes refusing to leave his lips, and I did a quick twirl with the flowery white gown I was wearing and grinned, "Do you like it?""Yeah," he answered, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him, "It's just, it's one, and that's not your nightie, and why is a veil over your face?"I took the remote from the dressing table and pressed a button, watching his face as the tune of 'Here Comes the Bride' filled the room. He raised an exhausted brow at me, and almost instantly, it dawned on him."You can't be serious." He laughed.Dropping my bouquet on the table, I picked up the rings I had ordered a wee
"Did he just say 'Good day to you, Lily'?" Rune inquired, sitting across from me in a chair while I lounged on the bed. "Surely, there's more to his call than that."Well, it wasn't all...***"... how did you get my number—what the hell do you want?""Easy, easy now. One question at a time. Concerning how I got your number: you should put a leash on your cousin. His obsession is getting crazy." he laughed, sending a cold chill down my spine, "Now to the question: what do I want? I don't even know."I'm standing in an open space, a hundred steps away from Nonna, talking to a man who was once on the verge of killing me."Oh, oh, I remember," he grunted, "Gradually losing hold of my sanity. Now that I think of it, did I ever have it?"And rapidly, I found anger replacing my terror: anger at everything he had put me through in the guise of playing a game, anger at the life he ruined."What do you want, you son of a bitch?"The other end of the call went silent for a few seconds, and when
RUNE"In this school, we prioritize parents' involvement in their child's life. Occasionally, you must attend extracurricular activities like sports days and school plays. We'll notify you in advance so you can plan your schedule. Your participation is important for your child's development and to foster community. Any questions?"Rune slowly raised his right hand, and the head teacher, a plus-sized woman he suspected was in her fifties, lowered her glasses to the bridge of her nose, " Yes, Mr Rune?""When you say occasionally, you mean...""Once a week. " His chest tightened. Coming down here and pretending he was a father to a kid who was probably street smarter than him was already hard enough.Kyra, although seated next to him, hadn't imputed a word to the conversation. Her black bob wig and nude-colored wig gave her the aura of a working wife. The smile she gave Laron constantly before calling him honey gave her bonus points.She was best suited for this conversation; two hours
"So tell me, my fair Lily." I could hear the sarcasm in his voice. "What exactly did you do when our dear Don came back after we spoke? mourn silently next to him? "I stuffed a spoonful of my ice cream in my mouth and swallowed, "I married him." As if in agreement, my ring glimmered at me. "It was a really small wedding, just me, him, and the four walls of our bedroom; you wouldn't like to know what happened next."Rune was standing next to the opened window, operating a system. According to him, he could track down Ruslan if I kept the call going for long enough.And that included acting carefree on a call with a man I never thought I'd get to know."Living the fairytale dream in hell. I'm jealous of your bravery.” I heard a popsicle crack, and he continued, "You confuse me." Perhaps my men gave me the wrong reports about you? You seem... mysterious. "His childlike curiosity about my recent behavior and the character that I adopted that was not in any way affiliated with the real m
Salvatore.How could he describe this feeling—the feeling of loss washing over him? Of isolation? Perhaps a case of homesickness?He had been struggling to look at things the same way for the past week, going over files to see if there was anything he could dig for that would lead him back to Campania, but he had come up empty-handed.It didn't do his mental health any good to remember that Kyra warned him. When did he become so bullheaded? How could he have taken the freedom he gained in Campania for granted?There was another way to get out of there: calling Adler and eating back his words by asking him to give the orders. He wished he had his crucifix to hold onto. But wouldn't that be hypocrisy? Would God forgive the faith he had lost in him? In times like this, he wished for Father Martin's voice, telling him how there wasn't a fault God couldn't pardon.He could go back to the house where he last saw his crucifix, but that meant returning to the last place he spent the night w
It had to be a mistake; Lily wouldn't hide such crucial information from him. She wouldn't put herself in harm's way. Who was he kidding? The Lily he knew would walk into disaster with eyes wide open. "We had a deal, you bastard," Adler clenched his jaw, trying to contain the mix of anger and frustration bubbling inside him. "You were to leave Lily out of this."There was a brief silence on the other end before a lengthy, low-pitched laughter followed by the voice, "Adler, come on, we just talked. She's fun to speak to; I couldn't resist."It was difficult for him to think or form words due to the rising heat in his chest; all he wanted was for the fucking game to end."Did you cut me off, little cousin? It was getting hard to reach you all of a sudden," Ruslan continued. "By the way, congratulations on your nuptials. She sounded extremely happy when she broke the news. Where is she anyway? Beside you? She was in the garden the last time I checked."His fears were confirmed. The ba
KYRAIf Rune wasn't on the run after she had given him a heads-up that Adler was on the lookout for him after finding out he helped Lily communicate with Ruslan, she wouldn't be here.None of that would have happened if he hadn't brought it upon himself, so tell her why she had to be the one present for Laron's art and craft, which involved making bracelets out of alphabet beads.They were in a large, noisy hall, with each group of children wearing a different colored shirt that matched their group. Laron was in yellow, and just like the last time she checked, his eyes weren't on his bead and string, but on a girl in another group who was in a red shirt.Kyra gazed at the forgotten string in his hand; his alphabet beads formed the word 'CHLOE', and she instantly comprehended the situation.Despite the noise of children and parents and the discomfort of her formal attire, she started selecting beads, unsure of the message she wanted to create.Her name? That sounded about right. With a